Chapter 45: There was a problem with the water supply at our new house
“Well then, let me show you to my house.”
Leticia combed her hair back and laughed.
Then, she took the lead, starting to walk ahead of us.
We had come here to accept Leticia’s villa.
Obviously, only she knew the way to that place.
That’s why we were swaying behind Leticia, who was swaying her arms around as she walked.
The street was crowded with many people. Since it was a marine trading city, there were all sorts of races and attires. There were humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and dark elves. I was wearing a traditional kimono from my world, which was fluffy like the dresses in a game. Some half-naked big, brawny tattooed men were also walking around. The weather was a little hot, probably because of the warm breeze coming from the sea. Both Cecil and Rita were wiping the sweat off their foreheads. Aine had a nonchalant face, but her face never revealed much either way.
“Master Nagi, look! They seem to be preparing for some sort of festival!”
There was some sort of huge dragon ornament in the direction where Cecil had pointed at.
It was a blue dragon atop the roofs of the buildings lined up on the main street. It seemed to be made of leather. As Iris said, it had eight horns on its rugged-looking head. Its eyes were small and seemed to be half-closed, as if they had regressed because the dragon lived in the bottom of the sea.
It was a replica of the sea dragon Kerukatoru.
Upon closer examination, there were many similar decorations in the town. Dolls, illustrations on signboards, and dragon-shaped paper balloons. There was also a store selling “Sea Dragon Masks”. They covered the upper half of the face, had horns in them, and only had holes for the eyes.
There were lots of paper banners around that store that celebrated the “Festival of the Sea Dragon”.
It was scheduled to be done 7 days from today.
It seemed the festival would take place on the brightest night of the year.
We started to whisper amongst the crowded city, roused by the preparations for the festival.
“It would cause a big fuss if it was known that Iris had been kidnapped right before the festival…”
“… People would start to say that the army corps went out of their way to receive the shrine maiden…”
“… And that a villain attacked them but the soldiers defeated him…”
“… That means that Naa’s greatest efforts would be a secret that only we know…”
“””Riiight~?”””
The three of them said that in unison. How nice.
Though it was true that officially, the ones who got the credit for preventing Iris’ kidnapping were the soldiers of the army corps.
You couldn’t take pictures in this world, and you couldn’t spread eyewitness testimony on social media. The only way to spread information is through rumors passed on by adventurers and townspeople. And that couldn’t be confirmed until the lord of Irgafa approved it. He served as some kind of information control in this fantasy world. That was better for me, though.
“But a port city sure is busy.”
I spontaneously looked at the city as we walked.
I had heard that the economy was good where things and people gather, but this place was something else. The number of people and the number of things were incredible. Maybe it was all because of the upcoming festival.
I wonder if I can make a living here.
The money I had on me was the reward I got from Iris. It was enough for me to live for a while, but not enough to live without working at all. That meant that I had to find some kind of job, and when thinking about how to utilize my skills, I’d have to work as an adventurer or a trader of sorts.
As soon as we’ve settled down in the villa, let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild.
I hope there’s some nice, easy, non-dangerous, and profitable job for me… That’d be great…
“We’re here. From this day onward, this will be your home!”
Before we realized, we were standing in front of a mansion.
An iron gate stood before us. It was sealed with a locked chain.
The garden was unmaintained and full of weeds, but it was surprisingly huge.
The building itself was a two-story brick building with ivy entwined on the walls. It looked surprisingly old. Taking a guess from the number of windows, it seemed to have at least six rooms.
It was located on a high part of Irgafa. The view from there was good. Very good. I could even see the sea from the mansion.
Cecil, Rita, Aine, and I looked around the place.
There were many trees around here, probably to provide some sort of windbreak. It looked like a small forest.
There were many buildings around as well.
The closest house was a huge mansion surrounded by tall walls at the other side of the forest.
There was a barracks behind the wall, and silver soldiers were lined up one after another.
To put it bluntly, it was the house of the lord of Irgafa.
To put it even simpler, it was Iris’ house.
She was unexpectedly our neighbor now.
“Now, don’t hesitate. It’s a little old, but you shouldn’t have any problem living here.”
“Umm… Leticia.”
“What is it, Nagi? Is there any problem?”
“… Isn’t this some kind of prime location?”
“Don’t let it trouble you. It’s just my mother’s villa.”
“This is the house of a Viscount, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my ancestors bought it from the Viscount’s family a long time ago.”
“Bought it…?”
“That’s why I used up all of my assets, all I had left was this mansion. It had originally been used as some kind of research facility, but it seems it was bought precisely because it was close to the lord’s house. So though it might look like it’s quite luxurious, please don’t worry about it.”
“… Are you really okay with giving us this house?”
“Didn’t we have a contract?”
We did.
There was a big difference between what I had thought it would be and what it actually was.
I’ve got my own house now.
The place where we belong. A place to return home to. A place to say “I’m home!” when you arrive and be told “Welcome back!” in response.
This was incredibly overwhelming.
Was it really okay for me to have this house?
“If we don’t accept it, I won’t be able to sleep at night thinking about the contract breach punishment.”
“Hmm… You’re right.”
“I don’t particularly care. But I feel like living here, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Leticia placed her hands on her hips and puffed up her chest with pride.
“At that time, if you were messing around with the mansion or doing something terrible to Aine, I would mercilessly confiscate it from you. Wasn’t that the deal?”
Leticia put her hand forward.
There were two white keys on her hand.
“Got it. Thanks, Leticia.”
Making up my mind, I picked up the keys.
“I’m so glad I met you, Leticia.”
“Even if you praise me, I’m still your slave, am I not?”
“We’re friends.”
“You can call me a friend, too. Well, let’s get in, everyone.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I was feeling a bit awkward.
Far from having a home of my own in my original world, I actually had never lived in the same apartment for more than a year.
I inserted one of the keys Leticia gave me into the lock.
Then I turned it.
There was a little resistance, and the lock opened with a clicking sound.
I undid the chains…
Opened the gate…
And then, we officially entered that place we could call home.
The first thing to do when entering a new home was to check the water supply.
This was something I’ve learned in my original world.
Did the water supply come out properly? Was there any water leaking? I’d check for those kinds of things.
It seemed that the water supply here in Irgafa was magically maintained. You didn’t have to go to the well every time, but I still had to make sure.
That’s why I went to the kitchen while everyone was placing their luggage down.
When I opened the wooden door, I found a cookstove, a sink, and…
A huge slime was stuck to a large pillar near the wall.
Slam.
I closed the door.
Snap.
I opened it again.
The slime was still there.
It was blue, and big enough to cover the entire kitchen wall. There was a pump near the wall. Maybe that was Irgafa’s magical water supply. And the slime seemed to have come out of it. Its mucous body was stretched all over the place like a spider nesting. It slipped into the gaps between walls, pillars, and bricks.
Perhaps it noticed that I was coming in, as it was shaking its body. Was it scared? Angry? Wait, what was this all about in the first place? Did the villas in this fantasy world always have slime in them? Perhaps it was after some leftovers? No, but Aine’s food has almost no leftovers, and it wasn’t like we had left any behind to begin with…
I mean, this is our house now.
What’s the meaning of this? What’s this slime doing in here? Let me say this again: What’s the meaning of this?
“Regii!”
I reflexively grabbed the cursed sword Regii from my back.
“We need to kick this guy out. Help me out, Regii!”
“Understood, Master!”
“Let’s go! Slime Bringer!!”
Regii’s voice overlapped with mine.
“Slime Bringer LV1”
Calls in any slimes that are several tens of meters around me and puts them under my command.
I raised Regii high over my head.
“Slime Bringer” was an Ultra-Super-Rare skill made using Aine and Regii. It could enslave nearby slimes.
I didn’t like shooting first before asking any questions, but this slime was an intruder. I had to get him off my walls! Then there would be plenty of time for talking.
*rattle rattle*
The wall shook.
Ro, rorororooororooooooooooo
The slime started to make a noise.
Its mucous body was trembling. Its main body was stuck to a pillar, while its tentacles were extending over the walls on every side. It was trembling, and crying… And then…
The entire house began to tremble as well.
“It’s no use, Master! It’s resisting!”
Ruoooooooooooooooooooo
The slime was frantically resisting.
It was a mess! Brick debris began to fall from the ceiling. This slime dug deeper into the pillars and walls. The vibration of its body was transmitted directly to the house’s structure. If this kept on going like this, the entire house could collapse!
“Stop, Regii! Cancel the skill!”
“Got it!”
The cursed sword Regii’s trembling stopped. The skill stopped.
And with that, the slime stopped trembling as well.
It’s jelly-like body had goosebumps all over. It seemed scared of me.
“Slime Bringer didn’t work…”
To begin with, this skill would be easily resisted by high-level slimes. And this one wasn’t just big in size. This guy had that much ability and fighting power.
The trouble is that the slime’s body was getting into the gaps between the pillars and walls. If something were to go wrong, the house could come crumbling down.
The only way to protect the house would be to kill it in an instant. However, if the skill he used were to be too powerful, the house would definitely be destroyed before the slime was killed. Aine’s “Sewage Increase” could be used to defeat it, but to do that, she would have to soak it in sewage. That meant that the entire house would be flooded.
“In this situation… do we have any other choice but to try to get it to go away peacefully?”
The slime wasn’t making any moves. Its intentions weren’t clear, but it could be non-hostile.
However, this guy’s body is blocking the water supply and drainage. If they couldn’t get rid of it, they would not be able to draw water, wash stuff, nor fill up a bathtub. Jeez… Where did you come from?
“W-W-What’s all that ruckus about–!? A s-slimeeeee!?”
“That’s what it looks like… Do you know anything about this guy?”
Leticia darted into the kitchen, and I asked her that.
Cecil, Rita, and Aine arrived as well, and were completely dumbfounded.
“This wouldn’t happen to be the housekeeper, right?”
re half a year ago, they didn’t tell me about any abnormalities…”
Does that mean this thing has been in here for almost six months?
Cecil and the others reflexively got ready to fight, but I stopped them.
Don’t mess with it or the entire house is going to come crumbling down on us.
I had no intention to lose this place I could call home. I had just received it a few minutes ago, after all.
“Regii. Can you tell me about this guy’s true nature?”
“If it’s strong enough to resist Slime Bringer, it’s probably an Elder Slime. It’s a monster that has been strengthened by magic, such as that wielded by elves.”
Regii spoke while still retaining its sword-like shape.
“Do you know about elves, Master?”
“Elves are… A magical race of people that dwell in the forest?”
“That’s right. It’s said that the elves who originally lived in the forest used to strengthen animals and monsters over a long period of time and use them as familiars. Unlike towns, forests have no walls or lookouts. So, instead of having watchtowers, they use familiars for patrolling the area.”
“So this guy is an elf’s familiar?”
“No, but long ago there used to be a forest in this area. Some elf must have inadvertently made it like others over the town and, having trouble dealing with it, decided to throw it away. ”
“That’s illegal dumping!”
But if it’s been given some kind of high intelligence, maybe it’s possible to talk it out with it.
Let’s negotiate.
I placed the cursed sword Regii on the floor as proof of not bearing any hostility towards the slime.
Rorororororo
The Elder Slime was groaning.
I took a deep breath.
It was the first time I would be negotiating with a monster right in front of me. Hope it goes well.
I took out a piece of dried meat out of my jacket’s pocket.
“Food Negotiation LV1!”
I used the skill I created with Rita during the fight with the fake demonkin.
This was a skill that allowed me to negotiate using food ingredients instead of currency.
And while the skill is activated, I would be able to communicate with my target, regardless of whether it was a monster or an animal. It was literally an OP skill as far as communication skills were concerned.
It was my first time using it… I wondered how it would turn out.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Elder Slime?”
I started speaking.
“We have just moved into this mansion. I don’t plan to kill you, but I’d still like to go away from here.”
Ru–ruuru–I–Ia, I–am…
A pale light began to flicker from the slime’s body.
Then…
“I am– a slime— made by the elves’ secret arts– a long time ago.”
The slime’s voice clearly reached my ears.
It was a slightly hoarse female voice.
“I’ve told you my demands. We–”
“Hah! Don’t be ridiculous, trying to coax me with a single piece of dried meat! You inferior being!!”
… Excuse me?
“I’m a slime among slimes! An Elder Slime!! I’m a superior being that has been created, and as such I have gone through a great deal of trouble in my younger years!
Compared to you… you’re so pitiful. To make such a fuss after having just your kitchen occupied! Have some shame, you lot! Shame on you!
To begin with, I’m an Elder Slime that has been created by an elf after being born in the Moon Girth Forest that used to be here in ancient times! Therefore, I have the right to be wherever I please here in Irgafa!
Anyway, it’s not even worth talking to inferior races such as yourselves! Bring an elf along! Bring one to me! Then we can talk! Don’t just stand there with that dumb look on your face! Bring someone of the noble race here right now!”
... Alright then.
I’ll beat the crap out of this thing.
I adjusted the delay’s frequency. It was a bit of a stretch, but I hoped it would work out just fine. I figured I should be able to calculate how many times I had to shake the sword in order to make it huge. Don’t let the sword touch the pillars and walls, just make it big enough to scrape off the slime.
Poof, poofpoofpoofpoof (x14)
I got the cursed sword Regii all set up and ready to go.
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